Take A Breath Fanatics, The Bombers Are Still In This

Okay, if you're a Yankees fan, you're probably ready to push the panic button after last night's baffling 6-run 9th inning, 8-0 loss to the Texas Rangers in game 3 of the ALCS. You might be thinking that maybe the baseball Gods have decreed that the Yankees domination of the Rangers in the postseason has finally come to an end; that maybe it's the Bombers' turn this time to walk away acknowledging--for the first time in a long while--that they were not the better team.

Let's face it, in this ALCS the Yankees have been completely over matched by the Rangers starting rotation; in all 3 games they've had to play from behind, and in their only win in game 1, the Yankees were only able to get to the Rangers' bullpen. Their offense seems to be asleep, having hit for a .194 AVG. with only 2 homers and 8 runs in the first 27 innings of this series. In last night's game, the Yankees could only muster 2 hits and work 1 walk off of "The Assassin", aka Cliff Lee.




"Bottom line, we just need to swing the bats better," said Alex Rodriguez after the game. "We had...chances to come up with some big hits and good at-bats. Bottom line, two hits and one walk is just not good enough for our offense."

Clearly. But it's not time to push the panic button just yet.

"Yeah, we're down 2 games to 1," Girardi said during the postgame interview. "But we're a very good club. We've been resilient all year. You don't win 95 games in our division without being resilient."

Exactly.

I will be the first to admit that I sat through last night's game feeling every emotion a fan feels when their team is being completely shut down by its opposition: anger, anxiety, sadness, fear, shock, etc., etc. But after awhile, I began to breathe again, and try to remind myself of the "Yogi-ism" the Rangers were forced to learn after game 1: It ain't over 'til it's over.

We've seen the Yankees lose back-to-back games before, only to come out in full force thereafter. Albeit three of the Yankees' all-stars--Jeter, Teixeira and Rodriguez--have not swung the bats well at all in this series, having combined for 3 runs on 5 hits with 12 strikeouts thus far, there's still something to be said for the Yankees only being down 2-1. Add to this sentiment the fact that with the exception of Andy Pettitte, who really pitched an excellent, gritty game 3, the Yankees' starting pitching has been lackluster to say the least. One can argue that this should be a 3-0 series and the Yankees should be preparing for an early exit. But fans know that you can never count the Yankees out in situations like this; that these Yankees are like a cornered gutter rat in New York City: they attack.

Of course, trying to show great face and stay optimistic will be a challenge for fanatics in tonight's game 4, with the unpredictable AJ Burnett getting the start against the Rangers' Tommy Hunter. AJ's "problems" this season have been well-documented, so we don't need to list them here. But, AJ does sport a 2.50 ERA in 3 starts against the Rangers in 2010, so we know that he can certainly come up big tonight.

"If you put [Burnett] out there, his stuff could get nasty," Texas manager Ron Washington said. "One guy who you don't think is going to do anything might be the guy who steps up and has everything fall into place. I'm concerned about him."

Hunter on the other hand has an 0-1 record with a 4.50 ERA this postseason. Another postseason rookie, he boasts a 4.45 ERA for his career, with batters hitting .265 against him. Hunter is a far better pitcher at home with a 3.06 ERA as opposed to .448 on the road. You figure that even if AJ sputters tonight, Yankees batters could fare well against Hunter and get this series tied at 2-2.

"I don't think we're in trouble," Girardi said. 'As I said we're a good club. We're down two to one; we're not down three to nothing losing in the bottom of the 9th."

It is clearly not over for the Bombers. Again, we've seen them in this situation before. Remember the 1996 World Series against the Atlanta Braves?

Game Notes:

• Andy Pettitte pitched 7 innings on 110 pitches, allowing 2 runs off 5 hits with 5 strikeouts; walked 0.
• Yankees had 2 hits and 0 runs with 15 strikeouts in 29 ABs; 0-3 RISP
• Cliff Lee pitched 12 innings on 122 pitches, allowing 0 runs off 2 hits with 13 strikeouts; walked 1

Follow Rasheeda Cooper on twitter: @ra_cooper

Note To Naysayers This Ain't 2004

Talking to fans before the start of the game at the stadium last night, I got the sense that reports by some sports reporters suggesting that the Yankees could "crash and burn" in this ALDS series like they did in the 2004 ALCS to the Boston Red Sox, had really riled them up.

"Are they kidding me?," a young woman sitting three rows down from me asked. "This isn't the same team that played back then. And, uhh, this [opposing team] is Minnesota."

An older gentlemen sitting in my row, who jokingly claimed to have uttered the word "Yankees" at birth, shared the young woman's sentiment. "You can't compare the '04 team to this one. This is a better team and they play better together. We own Minnesota, but maybe these media hacks haven't noticed that. It's stupid."
Maybe we should all just take a moment and try to give the reporters the benefit of the doubt on this one.

One...two...three...

Nah, that didn't work.

What more do the Yankees have to do to convince the naysayers who still hold on to 2004, that this is a different team? How much more would they have to bear witness to in order to recognize that the caliber of this team, the cohesiveness of this team and the drive of this team are in stark contrast to the team in '04?
And the irony of it, is that the loss in '04 is why this team is a far better team.

TheYankees slept on the Red Sox in that ALCS series. After pummeling Boston with a 19-8 win in game 3, the Yankees thought they had the series in the bag. They played with no sense of urgency, their hitting sputtered and they committed costly errors in 3 of those last 4 games.

What the Yankees did last year once they had the Minnesota Twins on the ropes, and what they've done again this year, is to play each deciding game knowing that being ahead in the series is no guarantee of taking it all. In yesterday's deciding game 3, the Yankees attacked early, getting things started with a triple off the bat of Sir Robinson Cano in the 2nd inning, who would eventually score on an RBI single from Jorge Posada. In the 3rd, Nick "Swishalicious" Swisher doubled to left and scored on a laser off the left field wall from Mark Teixera, putting the Yankees up 2-0. And then in the 4th, Marcus Thames sealed Minnesota's fate with a 2-run blast to right field, giving the Yankees a 4-0 edge.

And Phil Hughes pitched like a madman on a mission. His "stuff" was as good or maybe even better than it was at the beginning of the regular season. He dominated Twins' batters for seven innings with a sharp cut fastball and nasty changeup, changing speeds on all his pitches. As Hall of Fame pitcher Dennis Eckersley joked on the TBS postgame show: "He had that wristy cheese!"

Different team. Different year. Different approach. Same winning results.

Puttin' Some Good Wood On It

When it was clear that Andy Pettitte would not be returning to the mound for the eighth inning in last night's game 2 of the ALDS, I must admit that I was a little disappointed. As I had predicted the day before, Andy sparkled once again, mind you with a few hitches in his giddyup, but he sparkled nonetheless. It would have been pretty cool to see him pitch through the eighth, thus handing the ball to Mariano Rivera to close. So, yeah, I was a little disappointed.

But like this ALDS series for the Minnesota Twins, my disappointment didn't last very long.

Kerry Wood proved to be the right call for Joe Girardi in choosing his eighth inning guy. In game 1, Wood pitched two-thirds of an inning, allowing one hit, no runs, and one strikeout. In last night's game, he upped the ante by striking out two Minnesota batters and allowing no hits, pitching a full inning. He now sports a .167 ERA with two holds in this ALDS series.

In his postseason career as both a starter and reliever, Woods boasts a 3.52 ERA and 41 strikeouts in 38.1 innings over 10 games. Not too shabby for a guy who seemingly faded into obscurity following Tommy John surgery while a pitcher with the Chicago Cubs, after having been the toast of Chi-Town during his "lights out" rookie season in 1998.

Wood clearly tapped in to his old self, baffling Twins batters with a fastball that seemed to disappear once it reached the plate. He has a distinct "across-the-body" delivery which allowed for great depth of his pitches and deception of his breaking ball.

Three months ago, the Yankees' biggest issue was their bullpen. But since coming to the team, Wood has provided the depth and experience that makes this bullpen a force to be reckoned with down this stretch in these playoffs.

2010 ALDS Game 2: What To Expect

Don't be surprised if you see the Minnesota Twins head back into their clubhouse after the final out tonight with looks of gloom and doom. Minnesota pretty much sealed their fate last night by squandering a 3-0 lead into the sixth inning of game 1 in the ALDS to the Yankees.

Tonight in game 2 should be no different unless perhaps the Yankees take the lead first and keep it.

The Yankees continue to baffle Minnesota in what is becoming an embarrassing, continuous scenario. Expect that to continue tonight when Andy Petitte takes the mound in what I'm betting will be his record 19th postseason win. Yankees fan have to be a little squeamish about Andy's performance tonight having lost his last two games during the regular season. But true fans also know that somehow, some way, Andy will grind it out and lead the squad to a 2-0 lead against the Twins.

Carl Pavano gets the start for Minnesota tonight having yet to win a game against the Yankees since leaving the team in 2008. He's pitched well against them, but not well enough.

The way the ALDS has gone between the Yankees and Twins in recent years, you can almost taste series victory on Saturday in game 3 at Yankee Stadium.

Pull out the hankies Twins fans. That's if you aren't already holding on to 'em.

Taking Back ARod

We've waited seven years Yankees fans, and now the real Alex Rodriguez has undoubtedly shown up.

I remember back before Alex signed with the Yankees, reading about him being revered as a hero in Seattle and Texas. He had become the young face of both franchises and had dominated sports pages and magazine covers for all the right reasons: his play, humility and love of baseball.

When Alex came to the Yankees in '04, he seemed to show those same positive attributes in the beginning. His willingness to play at third base particularly made him seem like the kind of guy that was all about the team and winning. Yet somehow, things got all screwed up in A-Rod world, and this humble son of baseball became a tool for fodder and hatred by fans and the media.

One could point to the everyday questions by the media regarding his once-close relationship with Derek Jeter. Some would argue that perhaps the pressures of playing in New York were getting to Alex. Others might even hypothesize that maybe he just never was the humble gentleman he had been perceived to be. How could he be with stories floating around of his demands for special perks in the clubhouse? Or the speculation that his real goal for joining the team was to de-throne Jeter as the face of the franchise?

And, let's not forgot the announcement during the 2007 ALCS in which the Yankees weren't playing, that Alex would be going into the free agent market. Although according to Alex, he never wanted his then-agent Scott Boras to make the announcement when he did, people were still turned off by the fact that Alex sought free agency instead of securing a contract extension with the Yankees.

In the midst of all this were great games played and 2 AL MVP awards. But it was never enough for fans to embrace Alex; the man and clutch player they thought the Yankees had signed in 2004, was a fraud.

All that has long been forgotten. The real Alex Rodriguez has finally showed up.

What fans and the media have been a witness to since Alex rejoined the team in Baltimore last year, following his hip surgery, can only be described as the rebirth of A-Rod. Humbled by the surgery that could have kept him out for the season, and an embarassing admission of steroid use while playing for the Texas Rangers, Alex has emerged as a renaissance man. The endgame having completely changed, life for Alex is no longer about stats, but about helping the team win and having fun doing it.

And its showing. He has become the clutch player of years past, getting key hits and bigtime home runs in late innings. Young teammates like Robinson Cano and Nick Swisher have embraced Alex as a leader and model of the greatness they aspire to achieve. Most notably, he wears the crown of playoff hero; an accomplishment he could have only dreamed of before 2009.

Now, with the Yankees heading into another ALDS against the Minnesota Twins, Alex leads the charge having won the AL Player of the Month for September. And make no mistake, the fans and the media are expecting Alex to lead a now limping Yankees team back to the promised land.

Expecting him to.

Follow Rasheeda Cooper on twitter: @ra_cooper